Tuesday, February 8, 2011

This post requires you to use your own jeans. Normally, I prefer to create the full outfit, but sometimes you just have to rely on a piece already in your closet. I liked the pieces I found so much that I didn't want to look for cheaper alternatives.

Friday, February 4, 2011

This outfit is from last weekend. Yes, I took this photo with my phone in the restroom of a Mexican restaurant. I figured it was a good idea since I hadn't shown you guys my Sunday Splurge over the knee boots with an outfit of mine. So here's what I put together:

Unfortunately, since the boots were a splurge, the outfit doesn't stay under $100, but it does feature some really inexpensive pieces.

Jacket: Sears, 6 years ago, I have no idea how much I paid for it, but it was likely under $20.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

It's time to announce the winner of the giveaway! This lucky person will receive a pair of flower bobby pins from Bonita Bellita, in red, blue, or almost any other color. Are you ready? The winner is...

Tamar!

I don't have any other giveaways lined up at this time. If you or anyone you know would like to sponsor a giveaway, send an email to info@hundyandundy.com!

Monday, January 31, 2011

In my last OOTD post, I had failed to find a dress for an upcoming beach wedding in Mexico. I had spent nearly three hours shopping for one and came home with a totally different outfit instead. I decided this Saturday to try again. I didn't really have the energy to spend another three hours shopping, but I sucked it up and headed to the mall.

Lo and behold, I found my dress at my first stop, Macy's. I tried on two dresses, one I liked, and one I liked more, but it was a little off in the bra cups. I decided to size up and see how that worked... and whaddya know, it worked!

Here's the dress I found:

It is this XOXO dress, which was $79.00 on sale for 40% off, so I took it home for around $50 after tax. The necklace-thing was just hanging with it and I really wasn't sure what it was. I tied it around my waist, but that looked silly, so I tied it around my neck. I only now confirmed that I did the correct thing when I found the dress online. I'm not sure if I'll wear the necklace-thing for the wedding. I think I'd prefer a long layered gold necklace like this.

I still have to figure out what shoes I'll wear. Any suggestions?

(I was going to add another outfit to this post, but I think I'll save it for another day!)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Last weekend, I was on a mission to find a dress for my brother-in-law's upcoming beach wedding in Mexico. This proved really difficult. Everything I found was either too dressy or too casual... and being that it's January, there weren't too many options. Any any line that actually has a resort collection is typically out of my price range! So anyway, I failed this mission.

But I didn't come home empty handed!

I stopped in Old Navy to check out their sale and whaddyaknow, I accidentally bought an outfit. I say accidentally because when I tried these items on, I didn't put them on together. I was buying them as separate pieces. Today, however, I decided to try them all and look what I came up with.

(I really need to take advantage of my tripod! And clean my mirror.)

You can't really see my pants all that well, but there isn't much to see. Just black stretchy jeans with ankle zips. The button down top is really light. I have a feeling I'll be wearing it well into the summer.

Do you recognize these? After posting them last week, I just had to order them.

Can I tell you the best part about this outfit? It was ridiculously inexpensive.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

My new friend, Stephanie, over at Bonita Bellita makes some really cute accessories including bobby pins, hair clips, headbands and brooches. One of my favorites is this headband featuring mustard-y gold silk flowers. I'm in love with that color right now!

Stephanie is kindly offering up a pair of her flower bobby pins! You can choose from red:

There are a few different ways to enter. Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry or else it will only count for one entry! Oh, and throw in your email addy, too, so we can get a hold of you if you are the winner. :)

Monday, January 24, 2011

My favorite Wheel of Fortune clue is 'Before and After'.
My favorite part of this outfit is the pyrite necklace. Fool's gold! I remember going to a place when I was a kid where you could pan for "gold" and other gems and you were allowed to keep what you found. It was a big deal for my 8 year old self.

Moving on, I didn't fit tights or leggings into this outfit because I'm already moving on to spring. I can't help it. Especially since it's been 75-80 degrees 'round these parts lately. (I don't mean to brag...) Our SoCal winter may return, and I may get to wear lots of layers again, but for now I'm moving on to lighter things. Though this outfit might be a good season transition with the sweater. If it's not quite warm enough yet, you can always add the tights and a scarf and jacket!

Oh, and just an FYI, I was inspired to put together a sweater with pleated skirt after this outfit post at The Fashionista Next Door. I loved her look with the scarf and over the knee socks, but once I found this floral skirt I was all Spring Ahoy!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Before I get to this week's Sunday Splurge, I just wanted to inform you that the word "splurge" has finally presented itself to me in a new light. A light which reveals how weird a word it is. Spluuuurge. The spelling looks funny, too. Ah, well, moving on.

This week I have for you yet another Etsy item. If you hang around Etsy, you know the trends. One of the current trends is bunting. There are lots of shops selling super adorable fabric and felt and paper bunting. You can even find bunting in many of the graphic prints, like on birthday cards. It's just cute.

But look! Pamela Angus sells a different kind of bunting. Bunting that is more gorgeous than cute. It's stained glass! I am in love with her bunting and I believe it's my favorite in all the world. Just look at it!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

My husband nabbed a pair of San Diego Chargers season tickets. I figure I'll have to get myself a Chargers shirt to fit in while tailgating. Luckily, these days, they make women's fan gear to help us keep our shape and prevent us from having to wear men's t-shirts which turn us into rectangles.

I'm also lucky that it's San Diego, where I likely won't need more than this faux leather hoodie to keep me warm on the cooler days.

The Converse were a given. I've been wearing them with my t-shirt and jeans ensembles (please say that in a French accent) for years, so I chose these ones because they look fun. :) The cross body bag is perfect for keeping the essentials handy at the game without lugging a bag around.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I meant to get a post up yesterday, but I ended up spending the day recovering from my long weekend trip to cold Ohio. I am happy to be back in SoCal to find extra warm weather.

Anyway, I found this Jacket on Polyvore today. It was originally $125 but is now final sale at $49.97 with most sizes still available. I couldn't pass on posting it! I meant to make the military-ness of it just a side note, but then I found the other three pieces and ended up making it over-the-top military. Ah well. I'm still really hooked onto the military trend.

Friday, January 14, 2011

I don't do many outfit posts, mainly because I don't have enough items in my closet to a daily or semi-daily outfit post. I wear a lot of things over and over again. I am not much of a fashionista, that's why I just play one on the internet with my under $100 posts which are pretty much just wish lists for me.

Anyway, it must be your lucky day because I do have an OOTD post for you!

My husband says that leopard cardigan looks like a gramma sweater. I say, who cares? I found it at Macy's for 65% off. Yes, please. The yellow sweater I just nabbed at Target yesterday. My socks are black and gray striped with black lace at the tops. They are my favorite. The camera isn't part of my outfit, though some might disagree as it's become a go to accessory for me. (Also, I'm too lazy to set up the tripod.)

FUN FACT: I grew up in Ashtabula County, which is "famous" for it's collection of covered bridges. It's currently home to the world's longest covered bridge, and the world's shortest is being constructed as we speak in my hometown of Geneva.

So anyway, why am I going to Ohio in mid-January to visit when the summer is generally more awesome? (Everyone loves a segue disguised as a rhetorical question!) It's because my family is having a winter cookout, which sounds crazy enough, but it's not just a winter cookout, it's The Winter Cookout. In it's 37th year, The Winter Cookout is an annual event that our friends and family look forward to. We've got a fire outside, a spit with lots of meat, a pond for skating (if it's frozen enough!), snow for playing (usually), a hundred and one CrockPots full of comfort food and... what am I forgetting? OH! My dad's bar in the garage where we keep warm.

Bar, you say? Like your dad keeps some beer and some stools at his work bench kind of bar?
Not really. Here, I'll show you:

(This was a Thursday night in June 2010. My husband and I had just flown in that afternoon... then people started coming over to visit and have drinks. That's my dad in the back, me in the green in my traveling outfit, and various friends and family all with us.)

So bar. BAR. We've always had the actual bar in the garage, but over the years it's kind of turned into a real looking bar. It's always been a lot of fun to have. What you don't see, is that the side of the room where the camera is is my dad's full work bench.

I'll conclude here. I don't do too many personal posts, but hopefully this one was worth it.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I love fashion blogs of all types. I gain inspiration from most that I come across and even enjoy swooning over high end labels that other bloggers manage to work into their wardrobe. (How? I wonder) But my favorites, and it's not a surprise, are those that are thrifty and pocketbook friendly. I love a good deal and I really love seeing other peoples' good deals.

With that said, I've recently found AllForStyle.com. It's got a little bit of everything fashion related which helps to appeal to a more broad audience. My favorite part, however, are the Budget Chic posts. More recently, this post about styling the dress below three different ways. What's best, is that each version tallies up to under $100! Click the photo to see how it was styled.

I wasn't really looking for anything in particular to post about when I happened upon these boots. As soon as I saw them, I knew instantly what I wanted to do with them. These are my favorite posts; I just love when I can find what I envision fairly quickly, and within the budget. I want to wear this outfit tomorrow. It's just too bad I don't own it!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

What you all have been waiting for... (cue dramatic music) ...my recent splurge of my super favorite over the knee boots!

These are made by Material Girl, which, for those somehow out of the loop, is Madonna and her daughter Lourdes' line of clothing, accessories and shoes for Macy's. They were 69 bucks, which isn't outrageous for boots at all, but as you can see by the blog that I run, I'm pretty frugal. I loved them so much though that the price wasn't an issue for me.

So far I've only worn them with jeans, but I've got this super cute short sleeved, cream colored sweater dress that my mom gave me for Christmas that I think they'd look great with. I kind of like the juxtaposition of the soft sweater and the studs on the boots.

What I also love about these boots is the lower heel. They help save my feet and also assist me in not erring on the side of hoochie-mama, which I'm also still slightly afraid of doing.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

I am in love with over-the-knee boots. I didn't think they'd work for me, personally, due to my own issues with my thighs... BUT! I loved them so much on everyone else that I just had to try a pair on. So while at Macy's I looked and looked and analyzed all of their many choices and after about ten minutes I finally found one that I wanted to try on. It turns out that they were out of my size, but luckily the display was my size! I tried them on. I looked in the mirror and loved them! I kept looking at them, though, to make sure I was really seeing them and really making a good choice and trying to make sure that I wouldn't take them home and then end up with a "what was I thinking" purchase. Well, I bought them! And I wear them as often as I can.

So my first fashion post of 2011 just had to have over the knee boots, but unfortunately the ones I purchased can only really fit into a Sunday Splurge post! Yes, I splurged on them and I do not regret it! I will keep you all in suspense (ha!) as to what boots I purchased for myself. You can see them this Sunday. :) What you can see now, though, is the kind of outfit I imagined wearing with my dream boots, yet I don't have an outfit like this to wear them with yet. So without further ado...

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Well, lookie here! Check out the new design? What do you think? I am so excited to be back and blogging again. I really missed it.

In my last post, I asked for ideas for my first real post of 2011. The first comment from Christina at Consider the Coffee was: "Things I love for home decor these days are things like animal silhouettes, birch tree related items, very cabin cozy, and quirky!"

This couldn't have been a more perfect suggestion as my husband and I had just spent Christmas in a rented cabin with our dog up in Big Bear Lake, CA so I had plenty of inspiration for this collection!

If things are looking a little different, or even out of whack, it's because I'm working on setting up the new layout! Here's to hoping everything transitions smoothly so I can get on with the REAL posting!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

2011 is going to be a great year! I've ended 2010 with a few major decisions that should make for a great 2011. One of these decisions was to quit my job that pulled me away from Hundy&Undy so that could focus my time on other, more productive, things. One of these things is H&U!

So I'm back! I am so excited to get back to blogging. I've been spending a lot of time designing a new look for Hundy&Undy and I can't wait to unveil it. I'm not sure exactly when that will be, but hopefully it will be very soon.

Since I've been away, I feel a little "lost" on trends right now and really need to do some homework to catch up. Here's where you can help me out! What's your favorite trend for the new year? What would you like to see "frugalized"? Leave me some ideas in the comments for my first fashion post of 2011!